Suit seeks halt to mining near Civil War site

Published: April 19, 2004 8:00PM

The (Baton Rouge, La.) Advocate
BATON ROUGE An environmental group from Louisiana and history preservation group from Texas filed a petition with the state Monday requesting that a Civil War battlefield near Mansfield, La., be declared unsuitable for mining.
With help from the Tulane Environmental Law Clinic, the Louisiana Environmental Action Network, the Austin Civil War Roundtable and Jeanette Tate of Shreveport filed the petition with the state Department of Natural Resources.
DNR representatives said they are reviewing the petition, but couldn't comment on it.
The petition asks that the Dolet Hills Lignite Mine's 1983 permit to mine 30,000 acres be modified to exclude the 6,000 acres identified as part of the Mansfield Battlefield in DeSoto Parish.
The battle was fought in three locations April 8, 1864, and it's believed that there is an area that could contain unmarked human graves related to the battle, according to the petition.
There is a 177-acre state historic site on the battlefield, but the petition says that there are areas of significance that could be disturbed if mining operations are allowed to continue on the Civil War battlefield area.
The petition also says that there are environmental reasons and tourism/economic reasons for reconsidering the mining operations on the battlefield.
"This is about three things. It's about hallowed ground; it's about the environment; and it's about economics," said Dan Laney, president of the Austin Civil War Roundtable. He estimated half of the Confederate soldiers who participated in the Red River Campaign of the Civil War were from Texas.
"The battle for Texas was fought in Louisiana," he said. "We may not be from here, but we are of here."